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I consider Lincoln a hero, and am very glad that he freed America's slaves. And anyone who claims the Civil War was about "States' Rights" is lying (or badly misinformed); the only right the Confederacy was fighting for was the "right" to keep slaves. All that said, my understanding is that "Preserving the Union" was a higher priority for Lincoln than freeing slaves, and that it was his primary motivation for waging war against the Confederacy. So even with Lincoln there's room to question his motives and decisions (but then, there's no rule that heroes have to be perfect).